Silva Fox Says

silva fox artistry For the Leather Artisans: I've been an artist all my life and have found that just when I discover something new, a product, style or technique, someone else has found it too! So you don't feel as let down as I do when this kind of thing happens I'm giving a heads up on things I want to share. Most will have to do with my number one passion--ART, more specifically LEATHER ART , and even MORE specifically Wildlife, Tame life and Flora which I have been doing for quite a while. I don't do basket weave because I can't manage a straight line and I don't make; gloves, saddles (though I did make one for my grandson's rocking horse), boots, pants, utility belts, etc. My expertise lies in creating ART that is life-like in tooling leather so I will share those techniques. I hate wasting time on preparations for carving leather, there are efficient ways of doing things and a way of creating exciting patterns when you can't draw anyth

Some years ago, because my leather dried too quickly, I needed to figure out an option to maintain a working moisture content in the leather for longer. If leather is wet and allowed to dry too often it becomes harder, literally tougher to cut and tool. Because of this I decided to try covering the leather with plastic to retain the moisture. After trying several kinds of plastic, I settled on cling wrap, any brand. Because it is so thin and strong I can case the leather, cover it with the plastic and when it's ready for transferring a design, put the paper pattern right on top and trace away. My pattern doesn't fall apart because of the moisture and the lines remain crisp and clean. I can feel an indentation on the paper with my finger where the tracing is already done or lift and look if necessary. Tracing film works well but because of the thickness the lines transferred tend to be wide and blur when put close together. Another little time saver is to use a modeler right ove

The first projects I and many other leather workers learned on were 3 discs of leather, 3.25" in diameter, found in the Beginning Kit with some tools from Tandy Leather Company. I've kept those first works of mine as a constant reminder of where I came from all those years ago. As artisans learn we often moved in different directions to fullfill desires for achievement, ribbons in competition or needs in a market that would provide a living. I worked a full time job in graphic arts and marketing and, like many leather artisans did leather work as a hobby. Over the years, decades actually because we are not discussing 5 year periods here, I learned how to make a great many different kinds of things with leather; wallets, belts, key cases, photo albums using kits but, as knowledge grew so did the styles and types of products made; holsters, knife sheaths, custom works of all kinds and patterns, designs and publishing. No matter how many awards were won and how many shows I j